Getting started
- Download Droplet from this site, on your Android phone.
- Allow the installation if Android asks: by default, it blocks apps downloaded outside the Play Store.
- Open Droplet and choose a username. That’s it: no number, no email.
- Allow Bluetooth and nearby devices. Without them, Droplet can’t find the phones around you.
Adding someone
- Up close: bring your phones near each other, with Droplet open. The person appears on their own.
- By QR code: open your QR code and have it scanned, or scan theirs.
- From a distance: share your invitation link, or search for their username in the directory.
To check that it really is the right person, compare your safety codes. See Security.
When the network goes down
Droplet works without cellular data or Wi‑Fi, as long as the phone lets it run:
- Leave Bluetooth on.
- Remove Droplet from battery optimization when the app offers to. Otherwise, Android may put it to sleep and you stop relaying anything.
- On some brands (Xiaomi, Huawei, Oppo, Samsung…), also allow autostart or background activity in the battery settings.
- Install Droplet for the people close to you before you need it. The more phones there are around you, the farther messages go.
A message is stuck waiting
No one is in range, and there’s no internet. The message waits on your phone and goes out on its own as soon as a path opens up: you don’t need to do anything again.
If it keeps waiting even though the person is nearby:
- check that Bluetooth is on for both of you;
- check that Droplet isn’t restricted by battery optimization;
- open Droplet on both phones for a few seconds.
Audio and video calls
A call works when you’re on the same Wi‑Fi, or when you both have internet. Calls don’t hop from phone to phone the way messages do: voice needs a data rate that Bluetooth can’t provide across several hops.
If the call doesn’t connect, check that Droplet has access to the microphone (and to the camera for video), then try again.
Switching phones
Your messages exist only on your phone. Before switching:
- Settings › Back up my identity: create an encrypted file, checking “Include message history”, and keep its password safe.
- Copy this file to the new phone, install Droplet and import it.
You can also turn on daily online backup, encrypted with your password.
Without a backup, uninstalling Droplet erases everything, permanently. No one can restore your messages, not even us.
Battery
Searching for devices around you uses a little battery. In settings, you can reduce it, or keep it active only while Droplet is open. You will then relay less for others.
The assistant
The assistant runs on your phone, without the internet, once its model is downloaded (about 530 MB). For more in-depth answers, you can add your own Groq key in its settings: your conversations then go through Groq.
What about iPhone?
Droplet is available on Android for now. Keep it installed on your Android devices: it relays messages for everyone around you who uses it.
Contact us
Write to us at contact@dropletmesh.app. In the app, Settings › Contact & support › Report a problem shows you the exact text that will be sent, and lets you attach the error log if you wish.
Droplet is made by a small team, not a call center. A reply may take a day or two; it will come.